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First Cuban Export to U.S. in 50 Years Will be from a Cooperative

Set to arrive January 18th, two days before the incoming administration officially takes office, the first export to the United States from Cuba in over five decades is from an artisanal charcoal cooperative.

In December 2014, President Obama introduced measures loosening the 55-year-old trade embargo allowing privately-run and cooperative farms in Cuba to export the U.S. The move was part of a plan to normalize diplomatic ties between the two countries, the most significant shift in U.S. – Cuban relations in decades.

In an effort to support a stronger and more vibrant cooperative economy in both countries, NCBA CLUSA in 2015 launched the U.S. – Cuba Cooperative Working Group in 2015. Since then, the group has brought two delegations of high-level U.S. cooperative leaders to visit and network with Cuban cooperatives. With the mission of promoting mutually beneficial collaboration between the U.S. and Cuban cooperative sectors, the U.S – Cuba Cooperative Working Group continues to advocate for stronger ties between the two countries’ co-op sectors.